Two Bets, One Girl
by Created to Write
Summary: (Pre-Movie) The Lucky Cat Café has a new employee. With Hiro trying to aid his brother in his little-brotherly ways, Tadashi doesn't admit to something he is terrible at hiding.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first 'Big Hero 6' fanfiction on here. With this one, I had a goal to not make it go long and complicated like most stories.**

 **Here's chapter one:**

* * *

The Lucky Cat café was during it's mid morning routine of customers. Hiro watches his aunt go to each table, wiping them down or getting the guests their orders. He scoots over a little, watching as she takes another order.

"Hey Aunt Cass," he says as she walks back behind the counter. "What did they get?"

"A latte, Hiro, you know Mrs. Gi always gets that," Aunt Cass says as she gets the coffee maker ready.

"Right.. That's Mrs. Gi, always wearing something inappropriate for a seventy-some year old," Hiro comments, chuckling. He reaches around the glass, groping blindly for the object of his mission.

"Hiro! Get your hands away from the pastries," Aunt Cass says, slapping his hand lightly.

"But Aunt Cass!" Hiro whines, "I finished my homework. Can't I get a treat?"

"No Hiro. Wait until dessert tonight," his aunt scolds. Hiro hangs his head and starts to the stairs.

The bell rings, signalling another customer. "I'm here Ms. Hamada," a feminine voice states. Hiro stops and watches from the base of the stairs. A girl of average height walks over to the counter, a satchel over her shoulder.

"It's alright, Dawn. It's only your first day and the lunch time rush hasn't started yet." Hiro hears his aunt say. "And call me Cass, okay?"

"Alright." Aunt Cass hands the girl an apron and she ties it around her waist. Hiro watches her take the coffee to Mrs. Gi, then he goes up the stairs. He finds Tadashi, his older brother, in their shared room on the third story.

"Hey Tadashi," Hiro says.

"Failed to get a donut?" His brother responds, not looking up from his book.

"What? No hello? Good morning? How's Aunt Cass and the café?" Hiro asks sarcastically. He crosses his arms at his brother.

"Translation: No Tadashi, I did not get you a donut either," the eighteen year old states to himself, turning the page.

Hiro falls back onto his bed. He sighs, "I want a donut! I finished my homework."

"We all know you did."

"I finished next week's homework too. It's online and everything. Super easy."

"Alright genius, slow down. We know you're graduating this year," Tadashi teases, putting the book down. "It's been a slow Saturday for all of us."

Hiro remembers the girl. "Well.. it might get a little interesting today," he says, grinning.

"..Why?"

"Let's just say that you aren't the only one helping out with the café anymore."

* * *

Dawn stops at a table to get a refill, and then she cleans one of the tables out by the street. She walks in with the trash and deposits it all in the can by the door. "I am so glad that you stepped up for the job opening," Cass tells her.

"It's no problem, Cass. I needed it," Dawn says.

"It's just.. It's gotten really, really difficult to keep up with all the customers, even with Tadashi helping every other day. Having two extra hands will really take the stress off my back," Cass continues, getting a fresh batch of donuts out of the oven. She takes one and eats it.

Dawn pauses in making a smoothie. "..Tadashi?"

"Yeah, he's been helping at the café every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday evenings, since he doesn't have classes then. Although.. He could be helping now."

"He goes to college?" Dawn asks.

"Mmhm, one of the brightest boys I know." Dawn takes the smoothie and a donut out to the waiting customer.

"Hey! Put! Me! Down!" Aunt Cass turns around and facepalms.

"..Boys.." She groans. But her annoyance goes unheard.

"Hiro-" Dawn perks her head up suddenly, the new voice was deep, smooth. It held teasing humor when stating the one word. But it stopped suddenly, which compelled Dawn to turn around from the table she was cleaning.

Near the stairs, a full café away from where she is just to the right of the door, there stands a boy. Well, his features and tall stature suggest that he is more of a man than a boy. Dark hair under a San Fransokyo Ninjas hat, a green blazer, white t-shirt, and close fitting slacks. Dawn then latches onto the biggest brown eyes she'd ever seen.

"Tadashi! Put me down!" Then Dawn noticed the figure that this new person had in his clutches. Two feet were slung over each shoulder, where the knees stuck up by his protruding ears. A messy collection of black hair hangs down to his waist, which belonged to a boy of about thirteen.

Dawn wasn't the only one staring. He saw Dawn the moment he stepped off the stairs. 'Hiro was right,' he first thought, 'There's a new employee.' He picked her out by the apron tied around her waist. She has her dark copper brown hair up in a bun, out of the way. She had turned around, meeting his eyes with her own starry blue ones. They contrast well to her golden tan skin. She has on a purple blouse and blue jeans. Something about her made him not want to look away.

" _Tadashi_ _Hamada_ , put your brother down this instant," Cass says, mentally shaking Tadashi out of his thoughts. He lets go of one of Hiro's legs, allowing him to swing down to the safety of the floor. He chuckles lightly as Hiro harshly bumps his arm with his fist. But it wasn't hard enough to call it a punch.

"Sorry Aunt Cass," Tadashi says sheepishly, after seeing her glare.

" _Aunt_.. Cass?" Dawn asks, walking over. Cass looks at the girl, then back at the boys.

"Oh that's right! You haven't been introduced yet, boys, this is our newest employee. And these two-" she walks between the pair and squeezes them to her sides, "-troublemakers, are my nephews."

Dawn offers a hand, "Dawn Greene," she introduces formally.

Hiro is the first to shake it, "Hiro Hamada. And this is-"

"Tadashi," his brother interrupts, glaring to the side as his brother was about to introduce him. "Tadashi Hamada."

Dawn nods, "So.. you help out in the café?"

"Yep," Tadashi says. Hiro nudges him in the side. "You do too. ..Apparently," he says suddenly.

Dawn turns when she hears the bell ring over the door. "..Speaking of which, I should get back to that," Dawn says, turning to look at the pair again, "It was nice meeting you, Hiro and Tadashi." She walks away. Tadashi watches her talk to the next customers.

Then he hears humming to his right. He looks down at Hiro, the originator of the sound. "Are you..?" Tadashi says, trying to piece together what Hiro's implying. "Are you humming what I think you're humming?"

"What makes you think I'd be humming anything?" Hiro says, stopping to tell him that, "You're ears must be playing tricks on you. Or you want to hear it-!" Hiro starts to run up the stairs, Tadashi on his heels. Dawn watches until they disappear, as had most of the café.

Tadashi ends up pinning Hiro to get out the meaning of why his little brother was humming the 'kissing in a tree' song.

* * *

Dawn walks into the apartment she shares with a few friends, a little worn out after her first day. "I'm home!" She calls, in case she isn't alone. She leaves her sandals in the entryway and walks to the kitchen. 'Who knew after working in a café, I'd be hungry,' she muses to herself.

"Hey Dawn!" A girl that's shorter in stature to Dawn with red hair and blue eyes walks into the kitchen as well.

"Hey Lauren. Is the next article up?" Dawn asks, pouring her milk.

"Yeah, I think a lot of students are going to be happy with it. It's for writer's block," Lauren says. There's a little less excitement for her blog than usual, and Dawn catches it.

"What's got you down?" Dawn asks, leaning her hip against the counter.

"I don't get _why_ , even though we go to a school devoted to creativity and arts, we still have to write _science reports_ ," Lauren rants, "I mean, of all things! Science! I hate science."

"We all know that," Dawn says.

"I mean, _sure_ , science fiction is interesting to read -not that I would write one-, but who needs to know-!"

"Dawn, you're back!" Dawn gets a surprise hug from the final member of the trio that lives there.

"Nice to see you too, Ivy," Dawn says. Ivy is pretty strong, looks can be deceiving. The tall girl with curly black hair, medium brown skin, and ebony eyes pulls back.

"So, what's new?" She asks, pulling Dawn up the stairs to the main room they all share. It's basically open to the railing and stairs, where each of their bedrooms are accessed by.

"What's new? I went to my job at the café, nothing's new," Dawn says, sitting on a beanbag chair. Lauren had followed them up and leans against the wall, nibbling on a cookie.

"Oh Dawn!" Ivy says, gushing, "You work at a _café_!"

The other two stare at her. "..Soo..?" Lauren says.

"cafés are one of the most romantic spots in a novel to meet Mr. You-know-who~!" Ivy sings, folding her hands next to her face. She's such a romantic, which is why that's her genre.

"Ivy, I didn't meet anybody like that," Dawn says.

"Yeah, there aren't any sparkles and hearts around a person when you find your soulmate," Lauren quips, finishing her snack, "Now, I have that," she shivers, "science paper to finish. If I'm not out in two hours, I've died." She closes her door for privacy.

Ivy goes really close to Dawn's face, inspecting something. "..Ivy-"

"You have a.." Her friend gasps loudly, backing up, "There's something in your eye!"

"What!?" Dawn asks. She gets up and starts to the bathroom downstairs.

"It's love~! You did meet someone, I knew it!" Ivy squeals in her spot. Dawn groans to herself, then lightly chuckles at her friends antics.

"..Just don't write me as your next idea, okay?" Dawn says. She finds it is better to just go with it without agreeing and let Ivy find out for herself. She didn't find someone. It's just a job. "Did the guys call?"

"Nope, but they'll be over in a jiffy once they hear this!" Ivy says. Dawn can hear her typing.

"OH NO!" She yells. She dives for the phone and snatches it before Ivy can hit send. "Do not tell the guys."

"..Fine. It'll be a secret," Ivy relents. Dawn gives her the phone back, "But Hunter did say that he was going to come over for a brain storm. The yearly project is coming up-"

"That's right. Thank you. I keep forgetting about that," Dawn goes into her own room, which is usually neat, with a side of messy writer stuff when she's swamped. She leaves her door open. "I still need to think about what to do it on," she mutters to herself.

There's a ping and Ivy checks her phone. "Hunter is wondering if Avery can come too!"

"Of course! We're all best friends," Dawn replies.

"As long as they don't bother me!" Lauren says from her room. "I don't need Avery correcting every little mistake he sees over my shoulder! _While_ I'm writing it!" She adds.

"They will be here in a few minutes," Ivy says. She walks into her heart and romance infested room, giggling.

"Don't even start," Dawn says to her, practically hearing the thoughts in her perky friends head.

"I won't," Ivy says, laughing. Dawn shakes her head again, a wry laugh on her lips. She sets her hat on her head and picks up her pencil.

* * *

 **Next chapter is coming tomorrow!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, really long one.**

* * *

Dawn types away at her keyboard. "Annd.. done." She saves her work on her computer and flash drive, then turns off the computer for the day. Someone knocks at her door. "Yeah?"

"Hey D K, think you can look over something for me?" Avery asks, "I want my MC to heroic, but not.. Cliche, you know? I just don't-"

"I'm sorry Avery, but I have to pick up my shift at the Lucky Cat café. When I get back, alright? Try working on something else," Dawn apologizes as she pushes her chair in. She grabs her black leather jacket off the back of her chair.

"Oh.. okay," Avery says, "Oh! Ivy mentioned you met a new friend at the café."

Dawn rolls her eyes, "Yeah, something like that."

Avery raises an eyebrow, "Meaning..?"

"Take everything Ivy says about it with a grain of salt. She wasn't there." Dawn gathers her hair behind her head and puts the ponytail through the hole in the back of her hat.

"Got it. See you later!" Avery states as he walks away.

"Bye!" Dawn slides her notebook and laptop into her messenger bag and shuts the light off in her office.

Every student has an office at SFCAU. She closes the door and walks down the hall, passing Ivy's, Lauren's, and Hunter's. Dawn stops a moment at the latter's, watching him practice sword play in the middle of the near empty room.

"Don't hurt yourself, Huebador," she comments.

He looks up. "Have fun at the café! Bring back any spare notes. café's are great inspiration!" he says, waving dramatically. Dawn waves back and walks out of the building made of mostly glass, into the sunlight. She catches the trolley and waits until it stops on the street the café is on.

Then Dawn walks off. The bell rings as she opens the door to the café. "I'm here!" She calls. Cass looks up from helping a little girl pick out a brownie.

"Great! Can you help here, I have to check the oven." Cass doesn't wait for an answer and moves to the back of the café. Dawn picks up her apron and ties it around her waist as she crouches next to the little girl.

"Hi," she says warmly. The little girl looks up at her, shy. "What can I help you with?"

"..I want a bwownie," the girl says.

"Let's see.." Dawn looks at the arrangement of brownies. "We have one with chocolate chips, or- Ooh! This one has green frosting on top," she says.

"I wike fwosting," the girl comments.

Dawn looks at her, gasping, "You do?"

"Uh huh. But.. my favwite cowo' is pu'rpo."

Dawn smiles. "Well then, it looks like you can have this one," she stands up and takes out a brownie with purple frosting in the shape of a heart. She wraps it in wax paper and shows the little girl. She smiles and nods.

The mother pays for it and her coffee and the girl walks out of the shop, crumbs on her face and hands. "You handled that well," she hears behind her.

Dawn jumps and turns around. "Oh, Tadashi," she says, chuckling from embarrassment. "I.. yeah, I did."

"Got anyone that you've practiced with?" He asks, leaning against the doorframe.

"..Three younger siblings," she states.

He cringes. "Wow.. That must have been a handful," he states.

"I didn't even mention my two older brothers," Dawn says, turning to help the newest customer.

" _Two_ older brothers?" Tadashi asks, "Do you have any sisters?" He asks.

"Yes," Dawn gives the lady her change and starts the smoothie maker, "But she's, like.." she thinks as the smoothie fills the cup. She stops the machine, "Eleven, years younger than me. Here you go, ma'am." Dawn turns to Tadashi, "The rest are all boys."

"Full house," Tadashi comments, moving to stand by the counter.

"Tadashi, you better not try to take one of the cookies," Cass says from the oven. Tadashi cringes, giving away he was going to.

"..I'll be upstairs," he states, "Talk later?"

"Yeah, definitely," Dawn states. Tadashi smiles, then starts for the stairs. Dawn blushes to herself, looking down so no one can see. That's when she sees that two cookies are missing. She sighs, 'Boys will be boys..'

* * *

After Dawn's afternoon shift is over, she takes off her apron and hangs it on the tall closet door. "If it's alright with you, Cass, I'm going to stick around for a little. I have something I need to get done and without any distractions-"

"No no no, go right ahead. There's an empty booth in the corner if you want privacy," Cass states. Dawn smiles at her gesture and walks over. She sits down, the doorway to get to the stairs is to the left of her booth.

She takes out her laptop and starts the power up. Taking her notebook out, she opens to the page where she was writing down various details, or outline blurbs earlier in a class. She reviews it all again.

"Yes.." she cheers to herself. She types in her password and the screensaver of her family comes up. She looks at the dog on the floor, staring lazily up at the camera. "Love you, George," she whispers, planting a kiss on her fingers and moving them to the screen right at the german shepherd.

Dawn brings up the document she was working on. "Let me know if you need anything, sweetie," Cass says as she walks by. Dawn nods, acknowledging she heard her. Cass keeps walking. "Hiro? Where's your brother?"

"Sleeping," Hiro says as he finishes walking down the stairs. "He got back at five in the morning."

Then the whole café stopped and looked at the open doorway when they heard, "TADASHI HAMADA! I NEED YOU DOWN HERE!"

After a few seconds, there's nothing. Everyone goes back to what they were doing. "-I'm up…." could barely be heard from up the stairs. But Dawn picked it up. She chuckles to herself.

'He sounds so tired,' she muses. Cass walks back into the café and starts cleaning up a vacant table. Heavy thumps sound from the stairs, but Tadashi takes a different turn and goes around to the kitchen from the back way, without going through where the customers sit.

"I'm up.." he slurs again. He goes to the sink and splashes cold water on his face. He grabs an apron and starts working. Hiro jumps onto the counter in the kitchen, watching his college brother work.

"So.. Did you get a lot of work done?" Hiro asks.

"Ha ha," Tadashi states.

"No seriously, it looked like you had plenty of time to-"

"Hiro, I'm busy. Unless you want to help," Tadashi eggs on.

Hiro shrugs it off. "I would get in your way." He jumps down, walking the the doorway behind the counter. He sees Dawn working in the corner, then turns back around and looks at Tadashi. "Tadashi?"

"Yes?" His brother asks, not looking up.

"Tadashi~" He repeats.

"What?" Tadashi asks, looking up from the pan he just took out.

'Boy he's grumpy when he's tired,' Hiro jokes. "I think there's someone here that might lift your mood."

"Who?" Tadashi asks, setting the pan on the counter to cool.

"A certain.. Employee.." Hiro says, walking out of the kitchen.

Tadashi understands, but then groans, "She's still here?"

"Yep," Hiro calls from the café, "And she heard your rude awakening."

Tadashi's eyes grow to base balls, "WHAT?!"

"Yep, man that must be embarrassing. To be called out for sleeping, with your crush in the room-"

"Hey," Tadashi states. He grabs the hood of Hiro's jacket and pulls him out of sight of the customers. "I do not have a crush on Dawn, okay?" He says, poking Hiro in the chest a few times.

"Yeah yeah, I get it," Hiro says coolly.

"Thank you," Tadashi turns away.

"That means you'll have no problem going over and talking to her," Hiro states. Tadashi freezes at that.

"..What?" He asks, turning around.

"I mean, if you don't have a crush on her, then walking straight to her table and striking up a pleasant conversation after your.. Embarrassing moment, should be easy. Right?"

Tadashi grits his teeth a little. His brother may be little, but he knows how to use the 'innocent observation' card. "Right," Tadashi agrees.

"So.. if you really want to prove that you don't have a crush on her-" Hiro says.

"I need to get back to work," Tadashi turns away.

"-Just go and talk to her," Hiro finishes. Tadashi doesn't comment. Hiro stares at his brother for a few moments. "I bet you do," he finally states.

"No I don't," Tadashi denies.

"You have a crush on Dawn," Hiro states.

"Nope," Tadashi says. He's thankful that his back is facing Hiro, because his face is beet red.

"Then you'd have no problem talking to her," Hiro adds.

"Exactly," Tadashi agrees.

"So.. if you don't, you do have a crush on her, because if you did, then you can't."

"What are you getting at?" Tadashi says.

"A wager," Hiro states, leaning against the wall. "If you go over there and talk to her for more than five minutes, I will do all the dishes for a week, no complaints. If you can't, then you will do all the dishes for a week, no complaints."

Tadashi doesn't respond for a few minutes. Then he adds, "By hand," to the wager.

"..Whoa.. you really want your hands pruny?"

"Do you really want to bet on my ability or disability to do something?" Tadashi counters, looking over his shoulder.

"..Fine, deal?" Hiro asks, offering his hand.

Tadashi turns around. "Deal." They shake on it. Then it turns into a fist bump and they pull back, making explosion noises. "Prepare for a long week of dishwashing, little brother," Tadashi states.

"Oh.. I don't think so. She's in the corner," Hiro says, taking the tray to the display case. Tadashi follows him out. He finds the corner Dawn is in.

'I have to talk to her for five minutes,' he reminds himself, 'No problem.' He dusts his hands and walks through the chairs, both occupied and vacant. As he gets closer, he starts to tell himself, 'Abort, abort, abort! A week of dishes, no problem! I can do that-'

But it's too late, he's already at her table.

"Hi," he says before he can stop himself.

Dawn looks up from his computer, "Tadashi, hi."

"Umm.." he swallows. He thinks of the first thing to say, "Would you like something from the café?"

"Oh, no. No, I'll be okay," Dawn states.

"Really? There are some muffins that just came out of the oven and they smell really good," Tadashi says, not believing that she doesn't want anything.

Dawn thinks about it, "What kind of muffins?"

"Blueberry," Tadashi states.

Dawn smiles, "Sure, I could go for a blueberry muffin."

"Coming right up." Tadashi walks away to get her muffin.

"See?" Hiro states, "I told you."

"The day is still young, Hiro," Tadashi says in a quiet voice, "You can't call me out just yet. ..This is diabolical, you know that right? Betting on your brother's love life?" Hiro crosses his arms. "That doesn't exist," Tadashi adds.

"Yeah, but somebody's gotta help you out," Hiro states.

Tadashi smirks, "Just remember that when you have a 'pretend' crush and I do the same to you." Hiro glares at him as he walks away. "Here you go," he sets the muffin next to Dawn's laptop.

"Thanks."

"..So, work is pretty slow at the moment," Tadashi comments, "Mind if I sit here a little."

"Go right ahead," Dawn states. Tadashi sits opposite of Dawn in the booth. He taps his fingers on the table, trying to think of what to say.

'She looks busy..'

"Cass said you were in college?" Dawn asks, giving him a topic.

"Yeah," Tadashi states, relaxing, "I go to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. You?"

"San Fransokyo Creative Arts University," Dawn states.

"..Oh. I've wondered how you get into that school," he states.

"Well, you have to have a project for your major. It has to be a certain length, and the topic varies depending on your major choice," Dawn states without looking up from her laptop.

"What was your major?" He asks.

"Creative writing, fiction adventure genre," Dawn states, "Which required me to have a one page synopsis of a book I would like to publish and an excerpt of my work that is one thousand words long. Then there was the collection of short stories I had to write which they monitored the moment I signed up. And then a portfolio of all my more serious writings, since I was a freshman, is handed in at the beginning," Dawn states.

"..Wow," Tadashi states.

Dawn looks up, "What did you have to do to get into SFIT?" She asks.

"There's a showcase every year and in order to get in, you have to wow the administration with an invention you created," Tadashi states, "It less.. Complicated, as yours."

"Well.. anyone can copy off of someone else," Dawn states, "But if you are a truly dedicated writer, you'll go the extra mile of effort. It's rarely ever crowded."

"True. Hey, I didn't get to ask you last time, but.." Dawn looks up again. "The Blue Jays?" he asks.

Dawn leans forward, as if she's waiting for him to explain further. Then she realizes she's wearing her hat. "Oh!" She takes it off, looking at the stitching above the bill. "Yeah, my high school. Let me guess... San Fransokyo.. Ninjas?" She asks, seeing his hat. Tadashi nods.

"I haven't heard of the Blue jays," Tadashi says.

"That's because I grew up outside of San Fransokyo," Dawn states, setting the hat back on her head, "I moved here for college."

"So your family of many siblings-"

"Back home. Well.. my two older brothers have moved out as well. I kinda miss them sometimes," Dawn states.

"I'm glad I get to stay near my family during college," Tadashi states, looking over at Hiro. Hiro is staring, mouth open wide, watching. "Don't know what he'd do without me."

"I'll say," Dawn states, chuckling, "I was the peacekeeper at home. Without me, I bet there's chaos." They both chuckle at that, then Dawn bites into the muffin and gets back to the computer. "Mm, that's good," she states, meaning the muffin.

Tadashi tries to keep a conversation going, "So.. fiction adventure?" He asks.

"Yeah, it's pretty wide of a genre. But it gives lots of freedom," Dawn states.

"Is that what you are working on now?" Tadashi asks. Dawn nods.

"See, look," she stands up and moves to sit next to him. Tadashi scoots over to the wall so she has room. "Each of our major's classes help us with our main projects every year. For me, I have world building, keyboarding advanced, seminars from authors, etc. Everyone has character building, if in literature, and other classes like that," she describes, showing him her schedule.

"Uh huh," Tadashi hums, listening.

"I'm currently in the world building process. There's a few different cultures I'm creating, based off of ones from our world-" A ping from her computer interrupts her explanation. "Oh shoot!" She says, looking at the upper left hand corner of the screen. It reads: 'Hey DK, still free to brainstorm?' -Saturn Bloggs

"What?" Tadashi asks.

"I have to get back to the university," Dawn says.

"Who was that?" He asks, seeing the name on the chat.

"Saturn Bloggs, a friend of mine. I really got to go. Bye!" Dawn says, gathering all her stuff and going out the door.

"Wait, Who's-" But Dawn is already out the door. "Saturn.. Bloggs.." Hiro walks over to Tadashi.

"Wow.. you actually did it," Hiro states. Tadashi is still looking at the door. "I'll go tell Aunt Cass I'll be doing the dishes."

"By hand," Tadashi adds.

"Oh come on! That was your side of the deal," Hiro complains. Tadashi gives him a knowing look. Then Hiro smirks, "At least I don't deny having a crush everyone can see-! Hey! Put me down!"

* * *

 **A mystery.. Oooohh..**

 **Who do you think 'Saturn Bloggs' is?**


	3. Chapter 3

**The next chapter is up and ready to be read!**

* * *

Tadashi lays on his bed, bored. He finished the progress for that day, made sure that Hiro got to the dishes, and he worked an extra hour at the café. But he feels like the late afternoon and evening are going to go the slowest ever.

Plus, Dawn didn't have a shift today, so he didn't get to talk to her. He's still curious about who 'Saturn Bloggs' is. "Is it that big of a deal?" He asks himself, "I mean, my friends all have nicknames. I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually forget everybody's real names." He chuckles at the thought of Wasabi going by that for the rest of his life.

"Still talking to yourself?" Hiro asks, walking in.

"Oh, are the dishes done already?" Tadashi asks, avoiding the question.

"Haha," Hiro says. He falls back onto his bed. "Hilarious."

"..I'm bored," Tadashi states aloud.

"Good for you."

"I'm serious. I didn't bring home anything to work on."

"Why don't you go back to the nerd lab and get something?" Hiro asks.

"..I haven't spent time outside the lab with any of the guys for a while," Tadashi says again.

"You're talking to yourself again," Hiro states, staring at the ceiling.

"I think it's time to do that," Tadashi stands up and starts out the door.

"Hey! What about quality brother-brother time?" Hiro whines, sitting up.

"HIRO! THE DISHES ARE NOT DONE!" Aunt Cass yells up the stairs. Hiro groans, falling back to the bed again.

"Looks like that will have to wait," Tadashi says, walking out.

"HIRO~!"

"Coming Aunt Cass!" Hiro says, dashing out the door. Tadashi takes a slower pace, aiming for where he left his phone.

"I'm going out, Aunt Cass! Meeting with some friends."

"Maybe you could invite Dawn," Aunt Cass suggests from around the wall. "You two are friends, right?"

"Uhh, sure," Tadashi agrees.

"I have her number," Aunt Cass states, holding the paper with said digits out into the doorway, where he can see it.

Tadashi's face brightens, "Why not? Then she can meet the gang." He walks over and snatches the paper from her. "Thanks Aunt Cass."

"Wait! Last hug," she grabs him and nearly squeezes him in her embrace. He pats her back and then she lets go. "Have fun."

Tadashi leaves the café and calls the gang on a five way. "Hey Tadashi!" Honey Lemon cheers.

"Tadashi, what's up?" Fred asks.

"Hey guys, can you meet up at the frozen yogurt shop?" Tadashi asks.

"I hear they have a new flavor. I'm in," Go Go states.

"Frozen yogurt? So there!" Fred agrees.

"I was going to reorganize my workspace. Go Go just took something the other day and-"

"Wasabi!" Everyone else whines.

Wasabi sighs, "Fine sure, I'll be there."

"Great! Everyone's going, see you there, Tadashi!" Honey Lemon states.

"Oh, and a friend of mine might be coming as well," Tadashi adds.

"Really? Who?" Fred asks.

"..You'll find out. Bye guys," Tadashi hangs up. Then he looks at the number on the paper. He adds it to his contacts and then calls. 'I hope she picks up..'

* * *

Dawn is sketching out a map for her latest project, and her cellphone rings. She looks at it; unknown caller. Cautiously, she answers, "Hello?"

"Dawn? It's Tadashi," the caller states.

"Tadashi?" She asks, "How do you have my number?"

"You.. gave it to Aunt Cass?" He answers, more like a question.

Dawn nods, "Ohh, yeah! Now I remember. What do you need?" She puts the phone between her ear and shoulder, starting to sketch on the paper again.

"I was wondering.. If maybe you'd like to go to the froyo place in town," he says hesitantly, "I'm going with a group of friends and thought you'd like to come to. Well.. Aunt Cass gave me the idea, so-"

"No no, that sounds fun. But.." Dawn groans, "I was going to a brainstorm with a group of my friends. I don't know if I can make it."

"..Oh. Okay, if you can't come-"

"I have an idea!" Dawn states, "What if.. Orr…."

"What?" Tadashi asks, interested to hear her idea.

"Well.. you wouldn't mind four extra bodies coming.. Would you?"

* * *

"Soo.. she's coming?" Go Go asks, to recap what Tadashi told her and the three others once he arrived.

"Yes," Tadashi states.

"With.. four of her friends," Go Go continues.

"..Yes," Tadashi says again.

"Great. Why not just rent the whole shop for a day?" Go Go comments sarcastically.

"I think this will be fun," Honey Lemon states, "New people from another college? So exciting!"

"Yeah.. whoohoo.." Go Go says, stirring her froyo.

The bell over the door rings and Dawn sees the group in the large corner booth. "Tadashi!" She waves. Tadashi looks up and waves too. Dawn and her four friends walk over to the group.

"Everybody, I'd like you to meet Dawn Greene," Tadashi says from his place on the edge of the booth. Dawn waves. "But I don't believe I know you four," he tells her friends.

"Oh," Dawn says, finding it her turn to talk, "This is Lauren, Ivy, Avery, and Hunter."

"Nice to meet you all," Avery states.

"I'm Honey Lemon," the tall girl states, "That's Wasabi, Fred-"

"And I'm Go Go Tomago," the final girl states.

"Guys," Dawn says, "This is Tadashi, he aunt owns the Lucky Cat café, where I work."

Ivy looks at the tall, fit, young man with almond shaped brown eyes, dark hair, and the Ninjas hat. "Ohh.." she says quietly, looking at Dawn. "That's-"

"Since there isn't a whole lot of room in one booth-" Dawn starts to say before Ivy can finish her thought.

"A booth nearby?" Tadashi suggests.

"Read my mind," Dawn sits in the two person booth behind Tadashi. Ivy takes the seat across from her, sneaking peeks at Tadashi when neither him or Dawn are looking. Avery and Lauren pull a table and two chairs over to accommodate themselves. Hunter finds himself a chair and takes the spot at the end of the table.

"So, Go Go? Honey Lemon? Those are some interesting names," Ivy points out.

"Fred comes up with all said interesting nicknames," Wasabi says, "Wasabi isn't my given name."

"But.. Fred and Tadashi don't have nicknames," Lauren says.

"My nickname is too awesome to be spoken aloud," Fred says, crossing his arms behind his green monster beanie, "Only a mind reader will know it. Well.. A mind reader and me."

Everyone is silent for a beat. "..What about Tadashi?" Dawn asks, turning to look at him.

"Uhh.." Tadashi stalls.

"It's, Tada~!" Honey Lemon answers for him, spreading her arms out over everybody. Tadashi groans to himself and looks at her. "What? It's from when you used to say that every time you showed us a project."

"Then you started calling me that, so I stopped," Tadashi reminds.

"Well, your nicknames are awesome, but they aren't as great as ours," Hunter says, looking directly at Fred.

"You have nicknames too?" Wasabi asks.

"Well, pen names," Avery corrects, "On the SFCAU website, you can have your chat name be whatever you want. So we each gave ourselves pen names in our group chat room."

"I.. am King Huebador," Hunter says, dramatically putting an invisible cape in front of his face, like a vampire. "The mysterious.."

"I'm A. Parkster," Avery states.

"Simple and to the point, just like him," Lauren teases, "My pen name is Saturn Bloggs."

"Ohh," Tadashi says, "That's who.." Dawn looks at him, "You said you got a message from Saturn Bloggs before. I didn't know who that was."

Dawn turns pink, "I guess I forgot to explain that."

"We all helped Ivy with hers, which fits her perfectly," Hunter says.

"..Ikey V. Sparkly," Ivy states.

"And finally, Dawn is-"

"D K Silver-pen," she answers proudly, before Hunter can.

"D K?" Go Go asks.

"Dawn Kelly, my middle name," Dawn fills in. There's a brief silence, which Dawn is the first to fill, "So, you guys hungry?"

"Yeah! There's froyo-"

"Are you kidding? To the candy bar-!"

"I'm getting M&Ms, since it makes it all rainbow-"

"I get first dibs on the vanilla custard!-" Dawn watches her friends go get their treat. She looks at Tadashi, who's watching her.

"I.. uhh," she digs through her bag, but comes up empty. "Gah! I can't believe I forgot my wallet. I knew I was coming here and everything!" She sits back and pushes against her hairline with the side of her hands, moving her hat a little too. "Great.." she groans to herself.

"I'll buy it for you," Tadashi says. Dawn opens her eyes and looks at him.

"What? ..No, I don't have to get froyo."

"I insist," Tadashi states.

"..I'll be okay," Dawn takes out her laptop and turns it on. A cup appears next to her. She looks up. Tadashi is leaning over from his seat.

"I don't think I'll finish it," he states. She looks at the cup; It's only half filled.

"..Are you sure?" Dawn asks.

"He stress eats, don't let him go up for seconds," Wasabi states.

"I do not stress eat," Tadashi says, turning to his friend. Wasabi and Go Go raise an eyebrow at him. "..As much as Aunt Cass."

Lauren comes back first. She sets her froyo cup down and takes out her own laptop. "So, what are you working on?" She asks Dawn.

"Well.. I still have to finish the map, but I think that I can work on the cultures' history together.." Dawn says, typing in the internet password. She takes a bite of the froyo as it loads.

"Uh oh, you know what that means," Avery says, sitting down, "I'll get the timer."

"Wait, who's going on Pinterest?" Ivy asks, being right behind the tall boy with short strawberry blonde hair and green eyes.

"Dawn," Lauren states as Ivy scoots past her into the booth.

"I never said I was going on Pinterest," Dawn argues, "..You know what? We were going to brainstorm, so, who are we focusing on first?"

"I think that Avery was next," Ivy states.

"Wait, we are talking about Avery's perfect society? Nothing can go wrong?" Lauren groans, "Just the day I need. Try to challenge me, I beg of you."

"Oh come on, I think I have this down," Avery states, "I'm working on the supporting characters lately, but I don't think I'm having trouble with much. Who's after me?"

"Hunter, but he isn't working on anything," Dawn answers. "..Wait.. where's Hunter?"

Lauren looks around. Then her face falls in irritation, "He's halfway through the froyo line.. again." Everyone in Dawn and Tadashi's group looks over at him. Hunter has two froyo containers, balancing an empty one on his arm. His friends all do their own versions of a facepalm.

"He does realize that with all he eats, he'll have a generous belly by the end of the semester, right?" Avery asks the group.

"Nah, he's going to stress-not-eat at finals, lose all that weight pacing," Lauren counters. Finally, Hunter walks over. He has the three containers full past the brim, the yogurt covered in candy.

"That's all you're getting?" Dawn asks, teasing.

Hunter sits down. "What are we doing today?"

The four share a look, the Dawn turns to him, "I guess it's a prompt day," she says.

"Yes!" Hunter pumps his fist in the air. He takes out his long list of numbered prompts. Everyone else finds the random number generator on their own computers. "Okay, who's first?" Hunter asks.

"Twenty-five," Avery states, punctual as usual.

Hunter looks at his long list, "Prank war."

"Fifty," Lauren reads next.

"Back to school."

"Seventeen," Ivy states.

"..Must work with the enemy," Hunter says once he finds it.

"Really..?" Ivy whines.

"Ivy," Dawn warns.

Ivy huffs, "Alright, no complaining."

"Thirty-seven," Dawn tells Hunter.

"Camping trip. Alright everyone, you have fifteen minutes. Ready, set, start!" Hunter calls. The four friends dive into their computers or notebooks.

Tadashi is listening to a conversation between Go Go and Fred, but when he hears the start of the word sprint, he can't help but turn around to see the team of writers working hard at their chosen prompts. Hunter is watching the clock and seeing if anyone is looking at another's work.

"What are you doing?" Wasabi is the first to ask.

"They have to write a short story in fifteen minutes about a certain prompt that I have written down," Hunter explains, holding up the list. Tadashi looks at Dawn's screen.

'Camping trip..' He reads through the beginning of hers. 'Whoa.. she's good.'

"Agh.." Lauren groans, backspacing. Go Go gets up and moves to behind Lauren's chair.

"What?" Go Go asks.

"I usually write blog posts, not.. Fiction," she wrinkles her nose at the word, "My major is journalling."

"Then why do you do it?" Go Go asks.

"Because it challenges me. Now, if you'll excuse me," Lauren says, "I have to finish this."

"..Whatever you say, Saturn," Go Go states. She pulls up a chair and lazily watches, chewing her gum.

Wasabi leans over and sees Avery working fast at his prompt. "Hey hey! You missed a word there," Wasabi tells him.

"I know. But whenever I'm writing, I turn off the backspace button," Avery says over his shoulder, "I'll edit it when I'm done."

"Okay."

"It's easier to focus without worrying about all the mistakes. Which I still have trouble with," Avery says.

"Yeah, a lot of trouble," Hunter states. Avery looks up to glare at him. "Ten minutes," Hunter says after checking the clock. Avery looks back down to finish.

Honey Lemon makes her way over to Ivy's notebook, "Why aren't you typing?" She asks.

"I get distracted by the internet, and my computer is back in my college office on campus," Ivy says, "plus, I love writing on paper. It's so much more romantic." She looks up briefly, watching Tadashi looking over Dawn's shoulder. But she's in the zone, so she doesn't see him.

"Whoa!" Fred states, looking at the notebook of lists in front of Hunter, "You thought of all of those?"

"Most of them, yeah," Hunter states, "Dawn isn't the only one to go on Pinterest."

"At least I manage my time," Dawn says suddenly. But then she's back to her focus.

"Five minutes."

"You got this Avery, doing good," Wasabi cheers.

"Lauren, your story's going great. ..I guess," Go Go tries. Lauren looks back at her. "What? I don't do much reading. ..Write!" Go Go says, getting Lauren to look back at her screen.

"Aww! That's so cute~!" Honey Lemon says, coaxing Ivy to finish more of her current scene.

'You're an amazing writer, you can finish this,' Tadashi wants to tell Dawn. But he doesn't. He keeps it in his head, and watches her fingers fly over the keyboard.

"And..." Hunter says as he watches the clock's second hand.

"STOP!" Hunter and Fred yell at the same time. The four writers sit back, taking a deep breath at once. Then they all sit up and send their document to their group chat. Ivy hands Hunter her notebook, which he reads first while the others are still loading on his screen.

"Uh huh, uh huh," he says as he reads through Ivy's. Then he hands Ivy's around. Everyone gets a turn to read it.

"Ivy, that was fantastic!" Dawn says, passing it back to her in the end.

"I did not see that coming. The protag and the main villain's head goon?" Avery whistles.

"Seems legit. A girl like that would totally fall for him," Lauren says.

"Thanks guys," Ivy says, taking her notebook back. Ivy recieves a hug from Honey Lemon.

Then they all go onto the chat, Ivy sitting next to Lauren so she can read. The non-writers look at the screens as well. They look at Avery's first. Fred immediately bursts out laughing.

"I need to remember that!" He says.

"Oh no.." Go Go groans, realizing what prank he's referring to.

"Hey, Dawn isn't the one with the largest family here," Avery says, "I have four older brothers, and five younger ones. Plus all those cousins that annoyed me on end. This isn't fiction, this is straight out of a family reunion."

"Wait a second.." Wasabi says, "you have nine brothers?"

"Well.. four are step-brothers aand three are half-brothers. Dad married again."

"Who's next?" Dawn states, keeping them on track.

"Lauren's," Hunter decides. They read through it, but it's pretty short.

"It's not much-" Lauren starts.

"But it feels like I'm a freshman in highschool all over again," Dawn assures. Lauren smiles at her.

"Yeah, it feels so real," Tadashi notes. Dawn feels herself take a small intake of breath; His voice came from right next to her ear.

'How did I not know he was there?' She asks herself.

"Finally, Dawn's," Hunter says.

"Alright, Silver-pen, let's see what you got this time," Avery encourages, scrolling down. They all read in silence. Then, one by one, they all either sigh, 'aww,' or giggle.

"That was a perfect camping experience," Lauren praises.

"I mean.. The grammar was off a little.." Avery starts. Dawn gives him a 'really?' look. "But you have the right idea," he says, patting her shoulder.

"It's so cute~!" Ivy squeals. Then she adds, "The characters seem.. Familiar."

"..Yeah, so?" Dawn asks, "You know how I get character inspiration from those around me."

"You always have to be careful around Dawn when she's writing," Lauren jokes, "Bystanders may be written into her story."

"Lauren!" Dawn states, having half a mind to toss Tadashi's empty froyo cup at her friend. She looks at the cup and wonders how it became empty. She doesn't remember eating while writing. 'But I've done something like it before,' she reasons.

"Awesome story," Fred tells her, "But I would have added a few fire breathing dragons with a pile of gold in that cave. That would have been awesome."

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd have enough time to add anything too fantastic," Dawn admits, "so I went with a more practical situation."

"These are all going to be saved in the short stories archive," Hunter says. He does a few clicks and they are all saved on the college website. "Someday, we will have enough to publish a few books of short stories."

"Hold up, cowboy. You wouldn't have one," Lauren states, "You didn't write anything."

"I will have you know that I'm creating my comic series. About a king-"

"I'd like to see it."

"It's recorded on my computer.." The conversation keeps going, and soon, the two groups have to go their separate ways.

"Hey, if you want," Tadashi says, stopping Dawn as she heads to the door. "If you want," he repeats after clearing his throat, "I could pick you up for your shift on Thursday."

"That actually, would be great. Uhh.. Cass doesn't have my address, does she?" Dawn asks.

"I don't think so," Tadashi guesses.

"Okay.. um, here." Dawn takes a napkin and writes her address on it. "Here you go, eight thirty in the morning, right?" She asks, handing him the napkin.

"That's correct," Tadashi smiles as he looks at her handwriting. It's a little hasty, but he can make it out.

"Bye!" She goes out the door to catch the trolley. Tadashi watches the door swing closed.

"OoOoh!" Tadashi turns to look at Fred and Wasabi.

"..What?" Tadashi asks.

"I think you know," Fred says, "Boy and girl work at the same place, boy asks girl to froyo, guy stares at where he last saw girl, a enamored look in his eyes-"

"Enamored?" Wasabi asks, surprised at Fred's word choice.

Fred stands up straight, "All the signs point to it," he states firmly, pointing to the ground.

"Point to what?"

"Dude," Wasabi states, "Dawn." Tadashi shrugs, confused. "You," Wasabi points at Tadashi. "Dawn.." he points at the door. "You," Wasabi points at Tadashi.

"I don't have a crush on her," Tadashi states.

"Hey, we never mentioned a crush, you did," Wasabi states smartly. Tadashi turns a shade pink and then leaves for the café.

* * *

 **Now that cleared up a few things.**

 **Stay tuned tomorrow for the next update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**In terms of chapters, this is the halfway point of this story.**

* * *

Tadashi presses play on the camera. "I'm Tadashi Hamada and this is the twenty first test of my robotics project." He activates Baymax and watches.

"Hello, I am Baymax, your personal-" Tadashi's hopeful smile falls as Baymax quickly runs out of charge, "-he-healthcare companion-" Baymax takes a few groggy steps forward, speaking in an equally groggy, if not slightly drunk like voice, "-I will scan you now- scan complete-!"

"No no no!" Tadashi holds his hands out as Baymax collapses on top of him. Then Baymax shuts down. "Argh," Tadashi grunts, frustrated. He pulls himself out from under the heap the robot created. He looks over the schematics on his computer. "It looks like your wiring crosses over each other, causing you to use more energy than necessary buddy," Tadashi says to the shutdown robot. "No problem."

He starts to reorganize the wiring on his computer, then takes out the actual piece from Baymax's skeleton to actually fix it.

"I can't wait to show you to Hiro. He's going to need you, pretty badly," Tadashi snickers. He uses the soldering pen to secure down a wire. "And Aunt Cass will be excited. And then there is Dawn.." Tadashi stops. 'Dawn.' He puts the pen down. "Where to start," he says, leaning back, "Dawn's incredible. She's friendly, open.. beautiful.." He looks over at the deflated Baymax. "But it's not like I'd take her on a date or anything," Tadashi states, as though the unresponsive robot was reading his thoughts. "I just.. I don't know."

He smiles to himself, murmuring a wordless tune as he thinks about how Dawn's face is relaxed as her fingers fly over the keyboard. She's in her element there, with her computer, fictional world, and herself.

'And I'm comfortable here, amidst the robotic parts, soldering pen, and the schematics I've created to make my latest project.' Tadashi looks back at the white blow up robot. "Baymax." Tadashi finishes fixing the wiring and lets it cool down. Then he installs it back into Baymax and changes his blackboard to say twenty-two instead of twenty-one. He starts the video. "I'm Tadashi Hamada and this is the twenty second test of my robotics project." He turns Baymax on.

"Hello, I am-" Then Baymax starts to malfunction, slapping Tadashi with his arms. Tadashi tries to block the painless assault and reaches to shut off the robot. The slapping stops and Tadashi sighs to himself. It's going to be another long day.

* * *

Tadashi steers his moped to the curb and shuts off the engine. He takes his helmet off, slapping his hat in its place. Thursday arrived and he made sure to be right on time to pick up Dawn.

He walks up to the door of the small rent house. 'This is the place,' he assures himself, checking the address. He knocks.

When no one answers, he knocks again. Then the door opens and Ivy is there to greet him. "Tadashi," she says, excited.

"I'm here to pick up Dawn," he states. Ivy tilts her head coyly to the side. "She needed me to pick her up for her shift at the café," he explains.

"..Come on in," Ivy opens the door wider. Tadashi steps in and looks around. There's the kitchen farther back to the left, stairs in the middle of the room going up to a balcony overlooking the entrance. "Lauren," Ivy asks as the red head walks out of the bathroom to the right, "where's Dawn?"

"I haven't seen her yet. Or had my coffee," Lauren walks across the room and finds the coffee maker in the kitchen.

"She's probably in her room," Ivy says, giggling, "right up there," she points up the stairs, "She's on the left."

"Thanks." Tadashi walks up the stairs, finding a large open space with various seating choices and a round coffee table in the middle. There are three doors, one on each wall. He looks at the one on the left and walks over. It's closed, with a yellow warning sign taped crookedly at eye level. It reads:

 _Caution: writer at work_

 _Trespassers will become unnecessary additions to a story_

 _and killed off without purpose_

Tadashi chuckles as he reads it. Then he knocks on her door. There's a squeak of a chair a few seconds later and the doorknob slowly turns. "No Ivy, I'm not going to-" Dawn stops slurring when she sees that it's Tadashi standing at her door, not one of her rent mates. "Tadashi!" She exclaims, "You're.. Uhh.."

"It's eight thirty," he says, "Well.." he looks at his watch, "eight thirty-four, now."

"What.." Dawn thinks for a moment. Then she groans to herself. "I forgot, I'm sorry."

She walks back into her room and starts shuffling papers on her desk. Tadashi watches from the doorway, which Dawn left open.

"We got our major assignments two days ago. I was supposed to have the idea for it finished before, but I didn't, so now I've been sifting through all my projects I've never finished, trying to find the right one to use. And I've barely gotten any sleep." She picks up a mug on her desk, which has a little cocoa still in it. "Pew, I need to shower," she tells herself.

"I understand," Tadashi says, "I've stayed up a few nights in a row to work on something. Almost soldered my hand off."

Dawn chuckles at that, then downs the rest of the cocoa. "I'm sorry, again. We're going to be late, aren't we."

"That's fine. It's not rush hour." He watches her stand for a moment, forgetting something. "I can take your shift. You could use some sleep-"

"No no, I'm alright. I should probably get out of the house for a little."

"..Okay," Tadashi says slowly. Aunt Cass will probably be more persuasive once they arrive. Dawn has the beginning of dark bags under her eyes.

"I'll be quick. Where's my-" Dawn looks around her room, which is pretty messy. She finds a few articles of clothing she'll change into. Tadashi notices that she's in her pjs and her hair's a mess. "Gah, it's in the laundry. Hold on." She walks past Tadashi and goes down the stairs. She tosses what she's holding into the bathroom as she passes it. She goes into the laundry room and rifles through her laundry basket. "Lauren! Where's my tank top!?"

"Which one!?" Lauren replies from somewhere in the house.

"The blue one!" Dawn yells back, a yawn on her lips.

"Check the dryer!" Dawn opens it up and looks through. Sure enough, there it is. She takes it and goes to the bathroom.

"Five minutes," she tells Tadashi, "..ten tops, promise."

"Okay." Dawn closes the bathroom door and a moment later, the water starts. Tadashi goes to the kitchen. He finds Lauren there. "So, what's the big project?" He asks.

"It's the project where we put everything we learned into action," Lauren states, "I'm making a portfolio with all my blog posts inside."

"I see, so.. Dawn doesn't know what she's doing?" Tadashi asks.

"She's got too many good ideas," Ivy states, walking in from the back door. "All her assignments have been part of different stories. She should have picked one by now."

"When is it due?"

"In two weeks. She needs to have the idea and the outline done by then," Lauren states, "I'd help, but I don't know how."

"Me too. I have my own novel to work on," Ivy pipes up.

"What's your major?"

"Romance novellas," Ivy says, "I'm writing a bunch of mushy romances, in many different times and settings."

"Sounds interesting," Tadashi states.

"Do you like romances?" Ivy asks, her eyes shining.

"..Not really. But my aunt has a few romance novels that I've picked up in my spare time. Some are better than others," he admits. The three stand there in silence, the shower running in the distance. "..So is she always like this?" Tadashi asks.

"What? Forgetful?" Lauren asks. She shrugs, "Sometimes. It's strange that she'd forget this."

"Yeah," Ivy states thoughtfully, peeking at Tadashi.

"Why?" Tadashi asks.

"Well-" Just then, the door to the bathroom opens up.

"I'm out!" Dawn calls. She throws her pjs in the laundry room and goes up the stairs. Tadashi follows her and finds her fitting her cap on her head. She slings her messenger bag over her shoulder and tugs on her sneakers. She remembers the mug on her desk, so she takes it with her to the kitchen.

"All ready?" Tadashi asks as she walks to the front door.

"Yep," Dawn states.

"..Are you sure you should go today? You look like you need sleep," Tadashi can still see the sleep bags under her eyes.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Dawn brushes off, "Let's go. Bye girls!" She calls behind her. Tadashi closes the door after her and they go to his moped.

* * *

Tadashi and Dawn walk into the café. Dawn starts for her apron, but Tadashi finds his aunt. "Hey Aunt Cass," he states.

"Tadashi, there you are. What took so long?" She asks.

"Dawn forgot I was picking her up. She had to shower and.." he looks back at Dawn. He turns to look at Cass, "She's been up a few days in a row working on a project. I tried to say I'd cover for her here, but she wouldn't listen."

Cass understands, since Tadashi himself would sometimes neglect his own needs like that. "I'll handle it." She walks out to Dawn, who's struggling with tying her apron. "Dawn, sweetie, come here." Dawn looks up and walks over. Cass takes the apron from her. "No need for that, come on." Dawn plants her feet.

"What's going on?" Dawn asks.

"You're tired, I can see it on your face. Come," Cass doesn't leave any room for discussion.

They walk over to the stairs and Dawn is coaxed up. She sees a kitchen and small living room at the top, along with another stairs going to the third floor. There's a door going to a bedroom from the living room.

"Now, lay down and get some sleep," Cass says gently. Dawn sits on the couch, suddenly aware of how tired she is. She slides her bag off and tucks her legs up onto the cushions. Cass gets her a blanket and Dawn is out faster than she thought.

* * *

 **Baymax!**

 **I had to get 'low battery Baymax' in this story.**

 **The end of this chapter was a little out of the blue for me. I just.. wrote it.**

 **Do you think everyone (Not including OCs) are in character?**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Big Hero 6. I only own my five characters and any other OCs they mention.**

* * *

Tadashi stops his moped at the entrance to the San Fransokyo Creative Arts University. Dawn is straddling the bike behind him, her arms wrapped around his torso. "There you go," Tadashi states, letting her get off.

"Thanks for the ride, Tada," she thanks, handing him the helmet.

Tadashi gawfs at the nickname, which she heard from Fred, "No problem." Dawn had a shift early in the morning on Monday, and Tadashi had offered, again, to drive her. This time, it was to her college. Dawn had agreed.

"Hey, if you have any time, do you think you could come in?" She asks.

Tadashi looks at the University doors. "I have to work on my own project. But.. maybe after lunch?"

"Sounds good. To help you find me," she takes his hand and writes the directions to get to her room on his skin. "Hope that's okay," she says. He rereads her handwriting.

"No, I'll find it easily with this. Thanks." Dawn nods and starts for the building. 'Great penmanship,' Tadashi comments, looking at the black lines on his hand.

* * *

Tadashi walks through the halls, holding a bag. He finds the hall that Dawn's office is on. He sees someone walk out of one. "Hey, uhh," he tries to remember his name, "-Avery, right?"

Avery turns around, "Hey Tadashi! What are you doing here?"

"Dawn invited me to see this place. She's on this hall, right?"

Avery looks over his shoulder and points at a few doors down, "Right there, man."

"Thanks. How's your project coming along?" Tadashi asks him as Avery starts for the coffee area at the beginning of the hall.

"..I'm keeping up. But it's a little hard to write a dystopian society that is unique. There are so many versions," Avery states.

"I thought you were doing a utopia," Tadashi comments.

"I was, yeah. It was to see what would be needed to make a utopia. The beginning needs to be realistic, and over time it corrodes. See you later," Avery waves, walking away.

Tadashi waves back, then walks to Dawn's room. He knocks. "Come on in," Dawn says, slightly distracted.

Tadashi turns the knob and finds Dawn staring at a large white board with marker lines all over it. "..Is this a bad time?" He asks, his head poking through the doorway.

Dawn turns around, "Tadashi, not at all, come in." Tadashi comes the rest of the way in, holding the bag behind him.

"You didn't forget, did you?" Tadashi asks.

"No, I was focusing." Dawn takes another look at the white board. After a second glance, Tadashi notices it forms a map.

"What's this?" He asks.

"It's the map of the world I've been building," Dawn states, "it has multiple people, cultures, and biomes I've had to fill in."

"That's a lot to get done in three days," Tadashi notes.

"Oh, I had this before," Dawn states, "But what I don't have is the plot. With a large world, many things can be happening. But I don't know what I want to center on."

"..I see," Tadashi sets the bag on her desk and walks over to get a better look. There are words written in different colors to dignify different parts of the map, like cities, or the type of landscape. "What are these?" He asks, pointing at the symbols that he's never seen before.

"Those are for the different people and where they are placed," Dawn explains.

"Cool."

"What's this?" Dawn asks, seeing the bag.

"Uh, lunch. From the café," Tadashi says, clearing his throat, "Aunt Cass thought you'd like some."

"Blueberry muffin, and a sandwich," Dawn says out loud, unpacking the food. "And a cookie."

"Oh, that's mine," Tadashi says, "I asked nicely."

"Of course." Tadashi sits on the couch in the corner while Dawn takes the swivel chair at her desk. She munches on her sandwich, staring at the map. Then she turns to her desk and looks at her notes for the world.

"I have no clue what I'm doing," Dawn states, stressed.

"Anything I can help with?" Tadashi asks.

Dawn looks at him. "Uhh.. Could I get your opinion on some of these?" She asks.

"Sure," Tadashi finishes his cookie and stands up. Dawn picks out the idea scraps that she has and pins them up on the bulletin board that takes up half of one wall.

"These are the six I've narrowed it down to," she states, looking at each in turn. Tadashi steps up to the first one. After reading it, he goes to the next. He looks back at the map. That's when he notices Dawn is watching him.

He decides to have a little fun with this. He looks at the third one, then hums loudly. He makes other considering noises at each of the ideas, taking far longer than he needs to.

"Tadashi," she whines. He starts chuckling. "Don't laugh, this is serious," Dawn pouts, crossing her arms.

"He he-he, okay," Tadashi says, getting her bearings. He looks them over one more time. "These two," he states, "I like those. They sound interesting. Lots you can do with them."

Dawn takes them down, "Okay." She reads them. "Now I have to pick between these. Shouldn't be too hard." She pins them closer to the whiteboard and takes down the others. "I'll pack these away in case I'm doing a sequel." She pulls open a drawer and places them inside. She shuts it. "Thanks, Tadashi."

"No problem," he says, smiling. Dawn smiles back.

"..Okay, now to choose between these two," she walks over to the bulletin board and stares the papers down.

"..Still stuck?" Tadashi asks after reading her face.

Dawn sighs, "Yeah.."

"Sometimes Hiro gets stuck on something and I have to help him out," Tadashi states.

"Really? Does it work?"

"Usually," Tadashi admits.

"What do you do?"

Tadashi gives her a side look. "This." He reaches down and picks her up by her ankles. Dawn is swung so she's over his back, her hair brushing the floor.

"Ahh!" She screams, "Put me down!"

"You need to look for a new angle," Tadashi says, between fits of laughter.

"I know martial arts, I'm warning you!" Dawn states, only bluffing a little. She never got the hang of it, but she can land a few blows.

"So do I," Tadashi states, fully serious, "Focus. Look around."

"My head hurts. And I'm about as tall as you, so my head is practically on the floor." Tadashi pulls her legs up more, so she's not hitting her head. "How is this helping?"

"Like I said, look for a new angle," Tadashi repeats, looking over her knee on his shoulder. Dawn looks around, everything upside down. She looks at the map and starts to form a path the story takes across it. She realizes it is for one of the ideas Tadashi pointed out.

"Let me down, let me down," Dawn squeals. Tadashi notes her change in tone, so carefully puts her feet back on the ground. Dawn pauses for a moment as the room stops spinning, then grabs a blue marker. She draws out the path on the map and bops the chosen idea with the open marker. "That one," she decides. She looks at Tadashi grinning. "Does Hiro seriously go through that willingly?"

"Ehh.." Tadashi shrugs, "Not _willingly_.."

Dawn nods slowly, "I see. Just like my first day on the job?"

"..Yep, pretty much." Dawn chuckles at the surety of his answer. "So, are you at a good spot with your project?" Tadashi asks. Dawn looks at the white board, a smile still plastered on her face.

"I think so," she sighs, looking back at him.

* * *

 **For Dawn's idea, I didn't actually think of one for her. It's.. vague. The only things I am going off of is my own novel I'm working on, but she has a few different problems than me.**

 **Just like with Baymax, I couldn't resist Tadashi doing the 'hanging by his shoulders' thing again to help someone in his own goofy way.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Big Hero 6. But the Creative Five are mine (Dawn, Ivy, Hunter, etc.)**

 **..Yes.. I just made that group name up..**

* * *

Since he got to see Dawn's office, it felt only fair to Tadashi that she got to see where he worked at SFIT. So later in the week, he brought her to his lab. They walked past the other students at work, saying hi to the group. Tadashi pushed open his lab doors and allowed Dawn inside.

Machinery was in a couple corners, and a bed was in another. A desk lined one wall, which multiple parts were scattered over. But the rest seemed relatively clean. "I need to use the desk, but if you want to sit over there, that's okay," Tadashi says, waving his hand at the bed.

Dawn takes out her laptop and gets working on the outline for her story. She's been hard at work with it, although her friends are making sure she's getting enough sleep.

Tadashi sits at his desk and starts to review the part of Baymax he needs to re-solder. He takes out his pen and starts to modify the piece of hardware, intent on his work. "Just like that," he mutters to himself, "Wait until this is finished buddy.. ..You're going to help a lot-" he sets his solder pen down and inspects his work, "-of people."

When he puts the piece back into the metal skeleton on his desk, he leans back. "What's this?"

"Gah..!" Tadashi jumps. He turns around to see Dawn looking over his shoulder.

"This.." he pats the metal structure, "is Baymax."

"Oh. What does.. It, do?" Dawn asks. She stands up.

"Well, not much yet. He still malfunctions whenever I turn him on," Tadashi states, rubbing his neck.

"Oh," Dawn sighs.

"But, when he's done, he'll be able to scan someone and determine how to help them if they are sick or injured. I've programed him with a lot of medical procedures and information to aid him."

"So.. he's a doctor," Dawn deduces.

"Well.. more of a robotic nurse," Tadashi corrects.

Tadashi unrolls a large blue print. It shows a large white robot with two black dots for eyes connected by a thin line.

"This is what he looks like," Tadashi proclaims, "he has a very huggable appearance. He'll be strong too."

"I'd love to meet him one day," Dawn comments.

"Yeah.. I'm not activating him today. I still have to rewire his structure. I hope that's where the problem is.." Tadashi takes off his hat and scratches his head. "I'll find out when I'm done." He sets the hat on the empty part of his desk and gets back to work.

"I'll leave you to it." Dawn sits back with her computer and writes out another scene in her outline. She takes her hat off and rubs the brim against her temple, thinking. "..What's your favorite color?"

"Uhh, green," Tadashi answers.

"Thanks." Dawn starts typing again.

Tadashi pauses in his soldering and looks back at her. "Why?"

"I needed a color for something," Dawn states, "It didn't really matter what it was."

"Oh." Tadashi turns back. "..What's _your_ favorite color?"

"Light blue," Dawn says, not looking up from her screen.

"Ah." Tadashi looks at his project again.

"..Why did you want to know?" Dawn asks, looking at him.

"I was curious. I don't know a lot about you," Tadashi shrugs. Dawn blushes lightly and smiles to herself.

"..So, you like robotics?" She asks.

"Yeah. I'm good at working with my hands," Tadashi states, "It also helps with steadying trays of pastries and coffee too."

That causes Dawn to laugh outloud. "Yes it does," she agrees.

* * *

Tadashi finishes a solder line and leans back in his chair. 'That's good for now. Ahh..' He cringes, flexing his hand. 'Hand cramp..' He stands up and looks at Dawn. She's fully absorbed in what she's writing.

He walks over and leans against the wall at the foot of the fold out bed. Dawn doesn't even flinch, unaware that he's watching. The words on the screen can barely keep up with her fingers.

"How do you type that fast?" Tadashi asks, causing Dawn to jump.

She looks at him, her ears and cheeks pink. "Practice," she shrugs, "The word sprints help. And I used to time myself for how long it would take to write a thousand words."

"One thousand words?" Tadashi gapes, "How long does it take?"

"On a good day? A half an hour," Dawn shrugs again. Tadashi's jaw drops. When Dawn sees, she tilts her head to the side, "What? It's only a thousand words."

"Yeah, but that's twenty-four thousand words in a _day_ ," Tadashi stresses.

"I can't write for twenty-four hours straight," Dawn states, "I still get hand cramps every now and then."

Tadashi flexes his hand muscles again. "Tell me about it."

Dawn finishes up the page she's on and then watches the loading bar as it automatically saves her work. She checks the time. "I should be getting to my campus. We're doing another brainstorm-"

"What do you do in those?" Tadashi asks as she closes her laptop and stands up.

"Well everybody gets a day to get help from the group. When it's Hunter's turn, we do the word sprint."

"Sounds fun," Dawn turns and looks at Tadashi as he talks, just a few feet away from the door, "if you're a writer."

"Yeah," Dawn smiles, "you'd find it boring."

"That's not entirely true," Tadashi notes as Dawn sets her hat on the desk as they keep talking, "if the story has tech in it, I could vouch for it's authenticity."

Dawn laughs again, "Maybe you should meet up with us sometime. That could be useful. And Hunter seems to bond with Fred." Tadashi laughs, nodding in agreement. "..Well, time to go."

"Need me to drive you?" Tadashi asks.

"No, Ivy's picking me up." Dawn grabs a hat off the desk. "Bye!"

"See you at the café," Tadashi says before the door closes. He sits back down at his desk and looks over Baymax's schematics. 'There still something I can work on.'

* * *

Dawn is given glances from Ivy the whole ride to their campus. They park and Ivy still gives her looks, with a sly romantic smile, as they walk to the building. "So, how was the tour?" Ivy asks.

"Good. His lab is big," Dawn comments, "the main area is very.. Techy."

"Was he a gentleman?" Ivy asks.

Dawn groans, slowing to a stop on the sidewalk. "Ivy, stop that. We're just friends. We've only known each other for what? A week?"

"Two weeks and three days," Ivy states matter-of-factly. She turns to look over her shoulder to add, "That's how long you've had your job."

"Why are you so interested in creating my love life?" Dawn asks, catching up to her friend.

"I'm just going off of clues," Ivy shrugs coyly.

"Like what?" Dawn asks.

"Like the fact that you are wearing his hat," Ivy says casually.

"Ha ha, Ikey V Sparkly, very funny," Dawn laughs sarcastically.

Ivy stops and turns around, "I'm serious, D K-" Ivy sees the unbelieving look on her friends face. She tilts her head and smirks, "You don't know?"

"Ivy, what are you talking about?" Dawn asks. When Ivy doesn't answer, Dawn starts walking to the building. As she passes Ivy, her hat is snatched off her head. "Ivy!" Dawn touches her head, now void of a covering, and looks at her friend. Ivy runs to the entrance of the building, with the hat in her grasp. Dawn chases her and takes the hat back, careful not to rip it.

"See for yourself," Ivy states as she walks through the doors. Dawn laughs mockingly at her again and looks down. The red 'S' and 'F' weave through the golden 'N' on the front. There is no hole in the back and the entire thing is a deep blue.

"What!?" Dawn yells. She grabbed Tadashi's hat by mistake! 'No wonder it felt bigger than I remembered,' she realizes, 'I have to get it back to him.' She looks at the clock behind the front desk. 'But.. it's late. I'll hold onto it until later.'

* * *

Tadashi finishes for the day and grabs his blazer from the back of his chair. He grabs the hat left on the desk and puts it on his head as he exits his lab. But it doesn't entirely fit on his head. "What?" He takes it off and looks at the brim. It has a bright blue bird on the cap, the entire hat black. 'Uh oh..'

Tadashi rushes out of the hallway, where he is greeted by Wasabi. "Hey Tadashi, what's the rush?"

"Oh I..." Tadashi stops himself from spilling why. He remembers Wasabi and Fred teasing him about liking Dawn. If he knows that he has her hat instead, he'll get teased more.

But before he can think up something else to say, GoGo appears behind him. "What's that you're holding Tada?" She asks, popping gum back into her mouth.

"What?" Tadashi asks, turning around. But that gives Wasabi the chance to see it.

"Is that.. Dawn's?" Wasabi asks. Tadashi turns pink.

"She accidentally took mine by accident," he admits, "I need to return it to her."

"Aww! That's so sweet," Honey Lemon states from across the large lab space. Tadashi cringes, since that means that everybody heard his confession.

"I gotta go." Tadashi runs out the doors and to his moped. 'Address..' he tries to remember where she lives. Then it clicks and he takes off.

* * *

Dawn hears someone knock at the door. "Is anyone going to get that?" She asks. Lauren takes one look out a window.

"This one's for you!" She calls up. Dawn walks down the stairs and opens the door.

Tadashi is standing there with a bashful look on his face, holding her hat. "I believe this is yours," he says, holding it out.

"Yeah, oops," Dawn states, turning pink. "Let me just uhh.. Get yours." She rushes up the stairs again. Her door is already open so she plucks the hat off her desk and gets it to him in three seconds flat. "There you go," she switches the hats. "That's yours, this is mine," she says waving her hat in the air. "Soo..."

They stand there awkwardly. "Quite the adventure," Tadashi comments.

Dawn nods slowly, "Yeah.." They fall into uncomfortable silence again. Dawn takes a deep breath through her nose. "Well, I gotta get some homework done, you know. Typing and everything," she says quickly.

"Yeah, I have to go too," Tadashi states, walking backwards, "café, and homework. I should probably check on Hiro too."

"Busy day," Dawn says, trying to end the conversation.

"Yep. Bye."

"Bye!" Dawn closes the door and puts her back to it. She breathes a sigh of relief. She hears giggling. At the top of the stairs, Ivy is watching her. "No," Dawn states, blushing harder.

"You two are so flustered and blushy, and cute! It's so perfect!" Ivy squeals. Dawn closes her eyes and just endures the torture.

'Make it stop...' she groans in her head.

* * *

 **I found this to be too good not to include.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Big Hero 6. OCs are all I have..**

* * *

The Creative Arts University group worked hard on their projects over the next weeks. Those that finished gave their brainstorm days to those that hadn't finished, for extra help. Eventually, the last person that needed to finish was Dawn, with her long novel and complex world.

They all sit around the table in the coffee break area. Her map was copied and pinned onto the large bulletin board covering one wall. Notebooks are open on the table with two screens that are connected. One has the outline, the other has her notes and character details overlapping each other.

Dawn sits in front of them with her friends around to help. Fred, Tadashi, and GoGo came as well. Everyone was busy and Hiro had school. Tadashi looks over a few characters.

"I need a name," Dawn states.

"What gender?"

"What species?"

"What's the person like?"

Dawn thinks about the questions. "Boy, he's a Galavan, and he's pretty clumsy. He's the guy they meet in the swamp."

"Swamp person? They aren't Galavan," Lauren states.

"No, but he got lost," Dawn points out, "He's already been in a few chapters and I don't even have a name for him. He's just S3."

"S3? Who's S1 and S2?" Avery asks.

Dawn states, "I already named them, I just didn't want to use the same reference name. It would be confusing. Now, any ideas?"

"How about, Felix?"

"Randy?"

"Ivan?"

"Roland?"

"Harry?"

"I got it!" Dawn types out the name, inserting it to every place where she put down 'S3.'

Tadashi leans over her shoulder and reads what she chose, "..Rolano?" He questions.

"Rol for short," Dawn states.

"..Ah." He stands up straight again and looks at the map. As the outline progresses, there is a string and pins that is set up on the paper and bulletin board. "You guys are very thorough with this process."

"Dawn is a very visual person," Ivy comments, "But all her extra effort works wonders."

Dawn stops typing and stretches. She stands up and moves to the map. "I'm so close.." she mutters to herself. She takes another pin and puts it at the new place, deeper into the swamp. "They are almost to the other side. And when they get there.." she squeals softly, "There's the big climax and the story is over."

"Are you taking a break?" Tadashi asks. Dawn nods. She flexes her hand.

"Cramps," she chuckles. She walks over to the counter along the opposite wall. It has a fridge and a couple pantries of snacks. She takes out a plate and finds some food to fuel up.

"Who would you say is your favorite character that you've ever created?" Fred asks, lounging with two of the legs of his chair off the ground.

The four of the writers gape at him. "That's like.. Like-"

"Asking one of you what your favorite invention is," Hunter finishes for Ivy.

"I have a favorite, Baymax," Tadashi argues.

"But you can't just pick a favorite character," Avery adds in.

"They are all precious babies that I love equally," Dawn says childishly, crossing her arms.

"Oh really?" Tadashi asks.

"Yes, really. I've developed them throughout their stories, so they are all important to the story and to me," Dawn states.

Tadashi looks at her, "I.. see."

Dawn sets her food at the chair and stretches her arms again, interlocking her fingers. "How much longer?" Lauren asks.

"About.. Three chapters, I think," Dawn says, looking at the map.

"This is just the outline though," GoGo says.

"Yeah, but I don't need anymore than that. Through the next month, I'll write it and then have teachers and/or classmates review it. Then I'll start again with the second draft."

"So long.." Fred draws out.

"Yes, but it's worth it."

"Do any of you use outlines too?" GoGo asks. Avery raises his hand. GoGo looks at Lauren.

"I write blog posts, remember? I was the first done."

"I like to think that without an outline, the story takes whatever turn it should, and it surprises me every time," Ivy says. GoGo nods, boringly annoyed at her dreamy look when talking about romance.

"Alright, time to get this done." Dawn sits down, then looks at the group. "..You guys don't have to stay here. I know how late it is."

"Well, don't have to tell me twice. See you at the Institute Tadashi," GoGo calls. Fred stands up.

"GoGo, please!" Fred complains.

"Now Fred. I need to get sleep!" GoGo calls back.

Fred sighs, "She's my ride. You should come by sometime Hunter!" He goes to catch up to his friend.

"Will do!" Hunter calls after him.

"I think I should get some sleep as well. I have that class early tomorrow.." Avery sighs.

"Bye," everyone else calls. He leaves. Dawn gets to work, typing as fast as she thinks up the next part of the outline. She stays on one bullet point and gets a lot of detail in. That's where Hunter stands up and says that he needs to leave as well.

The next to leave is Ivy. She gets a few things from her office and leaves. Lauren helps with the last bit of the string, then packs up the computer she was working on and leaves for the night. Tadashi is the only one left.

"Tadashi, you should get going.." Dawn slurs, "It's late and I'm sure you need to work on Baymax tomorrow."

Tadashi looks at the clock, "I don't think the buses are out this late."

"So..?" Dawn slurs again.

Tadashi sits next to her at the round table, "So, I'll drive you home." Dawn smiles at him, exhausted.

"I'm finishing this tonight," she resolves. She looks back at the screen. She reads the last bullet point, then continues. She takes a bite out of her bagel, licking stray crumbs off her mouth. She drinks the coffee, heavy with creamer, finishing the mug.

"Want some more?" Tadashi asks.

"Yeah, sure," Dawn says, looking over briefly as he picks up the mug. He goes to the coffee machine and fills it up.

"Creamer?"

"Lots."

He finishes the drink and sets it next to her again.

"Thanks," Dawn picks it up and takes a sip. "You know, Tadashi, I may just sleep here. Do you think you can pick me up tomorrow?" She asks.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm almost done. Then I'll go straight to my office and sleep."

Tadashi nods slowly, "Alright. Don't strain yourself," he insists.

"Okay, I won't," Dawn states, looking at him with her starry blue eyes. He smiles and walks out the door. Dawn sighs and looks at the computer. 'You got this Dawn.'

* * *

Dawn yawns loudly. The only light in the room is from one of the screens. She shut the other off since she didn't need her notes anymore. She yawns again and types a little more. Then she closes the computer and stands up. She leaves everything where it is and she goes to her office. The moment she lays down on the couch in her room, she's out like a light.

"...Dawn…? … Dawn..? … Are you awake..?"

Dawn stirs in her sleep. Light filters through her eyelids, showing the red veins inside them.

"I'll let you sleep some more..." the voice tells her. She feels a blanket draped along her body, which she forgot the night before. Her chair squeaks as the person sits down on it. They sigh.

Dawn loses track of time and opens her eyes a crack. The light coming from the windows is really bright. She closes her eyes to protect them and rolls over to face the wall. Then she opens her eyes again.

She yawns, sitting up. The blanket falls from her shoulders as she rubs her eyes. Her door opens and she turns to see Tadashi peeking in. "Are you up yet?" He asks. She nods.

"What time is it?"

"Almost two in the afternoon," he states, coming in more, "How'd you do?"

"Huh..?" Dawn asks, standing. Then she remembers the night before. "Oh!" She walks past him, her body registering the energy she acquired through sleep. She doesn't stop until she reaches the table with her computer. She opens it up and looks at the document page.

 _The End_

Tadashi watches Dawn's expression light up as she reads those two words over and over. "I did it.." she says quietly. She looks over the computer and looks at him. "I did it! Yes!" She pumps her fist and dances a little to herself. "It's done! Oh man.. That was so worth it."

"Congratulations," Tadashi says.

Dawn stops and looks around. "Where is everybody?" she asks, "They would all be here right now."

"They are at the café, for the celebration," Tadashi states, "For everyone that completed the assignment. I came to pick you up. If you're up for it."

"Definitely."

* * *

 **Yay! She finished!**

 **One chapter left! Whoo! Almost done!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Final chapter!**

* * *

Dawn and Tadashi walk into the Lucky Cat café as the bell chimes. Everyone looks at them and cheers. The whole gang is there, both of them. Honey Lemon and Ivy are sitting at one of the tables with her notebook open, going over something. Wasabi and Avery are chatting near the counter, donuts in their mouths. Fred and Hunter are having a blast as Fred regales his idea for a comic. Hunter gladly gives his input, as well as creating another character for himself. Lauren is showing GoGo her blog, which her new friend is mildly bored with, but is interested in being a guest in the next update, so she listens.

Hiro walks over to Dawn and holds out his fist. Dawn bumps his with her own and Hiro makes explosion noises, pulling his hand away. Dawn chuckles lightly and mimics him. "So, it's done?" Hiro asks.

"Yep, last night," Dawn states, "it was the hardest.. Four extra hours of work I've ever done, but I did it." Dawn again, has everyone's attention. "And everyone's here," she notes aloud.

"Who says no to free food?" Fred asks, biting into another muffin.

"Apparently, not Fred," Lauren states. Everyone laughs.

Aunt Cass takes the opportunity to come in from the kitchen. "Dawn! You're here!" She walks over and gives Dawn a big hug. "Congratulations. I'm so excited for you!" She squeals, jumping a little. "I know you like blueberry muffins, so I whipped up a big batch for you to take home..."

Aunt Cass hands her one muffin and continues to ramble a little bit. Tadashi gets himself a treat and sits with Hiro. Dawn listens for a little bit longer, until Aunt Cass realizes what she's doing.

"Oh, what am I doing, go enjoy yourself. Have fun." Dawn starts to turn away, but she's pulled back. "One last hug." SHe hugs Aunt Cass back. She then takes her muffin and sits down at a booth.

"Dawn, how does your book end?" Ivy asks, sitting next to her. Lauren sits there too, and waits for the answer.

"Girls, you've helped me. You know how it ends," Dawn points out.

"Yeah, but we haven't read it," Lauren states. Dawn sighs, then takes out her laptop.

"GoGo! Honey Lemon! Come read!" Ivy waves the two over. Tadashi watches the four girls crowd around Dawn and her computer as she scrolls to the end of her book.

"Has someone caught the love bug?" Hunter asks, sitting down.

"What?" Tadashi asks, turning around. Hunter and Wasabi had taken seats across from him. Fred is at the counter, swiping another cookie. Avery is standing near the table. Hiro walks over all 'cool like' and leans against his older brother's chair.

"Dude, we can all see it," Hiro states.

"But-"

"Uh uh uh, this isn't just some little crush, is it Tada?" Hiro asks.

"How do you know about that?" Tadashi asks, feeling embarrassed.

"Not telling-"

"It was Fred, wasn't it-?"

"No...!" Hiro denies, standing straight, "it was _not_ Fred."

"He's right," Fred states, "It was _Wasabi_."

"I admit to nothing," Wasabi states, "But seriously man, you have got to talk to her."

"..You're all teaming up against me," Tadashi realizes, looking at each boy in turn. "Even you two?" He asks, looking at Avery and Hunter.

"Hey, Dawn is our friend. We're like a family. That makes her our sister and we want what's best for her," Avery sums up, "so don't break her heart."

"I won't be breaking anything," Tadashi states, holding his hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

"You're asking her out," Hiro decides.

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, yeah you are, big brother."

"...What if she says no?"

"What makes you think she will?" Fred asks.

"What makes you think I will even ask?" Tadashi counters.

Hiro taps his chin, "How about another bet?" Tadashi looks at his brother. "If you go over there, right now, and ask her out, and she says yes.." Hiro thinks for a little bit. "I'll do your laundry for a month."

Tadashi looks at the others, "Are you guys in this too?"

"Heck no. I'm not doing laundry," Wasabi states, "buut.. If you do this, then.. I'll clean your lab. Spotless."

"You get to name my antagonist of my comic," Fred decides, "If not, you become the antagonist, duh duh _duh_!"

Wasabi likes where this is going, "If you don't, then you become my assistant for the week."

Tadashi looks at Hunter and Avery. "We're staying out of this," Avery decides.

"I want to see how it ends," Hunter admits.

Tadashi looks at Hiro, "What's the other side of your bet?"

Hiro smirks, "If you refuse, or she says no, I get your room."

"Forever?" Tadashi asks.

Hiro's smirk deepens, "Well.. yeah."

Tadashi sits back and thinks about this. This isn't some chore that he can tolerate. Hiro's really stepped up his game. He looks at Dawn. She's surrounded by her friends, new and old. She has her Bluejay hat crooked and her black leather jacket hangs from her shoulders.

He looks back at the boys. "Deal." He shakes hands with Wasabi, then Fred, and finally, Hiro. They both make explosion sounds at the end.

"Think you can handle less privacy?" Hiro asks.

Tadashi stands up, "Think she'll say no?" At that, Tadashi turns and starts for Dawn's booth.

It takes him back to that first time, when all he had to do was talk to her for five minutes. Only this time, he has to ask her out; and she isn't alone.

He stops behind Ivy and clears his throat. Five pairs of eyes are on him. He looks at Dawn, trying to ignore the others. "Hey, uh, Dawn?" He asks.

"Yeah Tadashi?" She asks.

"..Would.. Would you like to.." he scratches under his hat. He feels his cheeks and ears heat up, the red color apparent to those watching. "Umm.. go with me to the.." he chooses the first restaurant thinks up, "the Aozora Restaurant, next Friday?"

The table is quiet. Dawn looks at him for a second longer, then looks at each of the girls. Ivy is giggling, Honey Lemon is silent, but her grin is almost as big as Ivy's. Lauren nudges Dawn and GoGo leans back to watch the exchange.

Dawn sighs and looks Tadashi in the eye. She smiles, "Sure." The four girls cheer/squeal/hug Dawn. Tadashi sighs as the tension leaves him. He turns around and looks at the guys. Wasabi's eyes are as round as his donut, Fred is shocked and a little disgruntled that he can't name one of his characters, and Hiro.. Hiro's jaw is on the floor.

Tadashi turns back to Dawn, "I'll pick you up at six," he says. She nods.

"Great." He turns around and walks back to the guys. Hiro is still staring at him.

"What? Thought your big brother wouldn't ever get a date?" Tadashi teases. Hiro sits in the chair next to him. His wild hair blocks his face from view as he falls face first onto the table. "Don't worry Hiro, my clothes aren't that dirty," Tadashi says, patting his brother's back. Hiro groans.

"I'm never taking up a bet with you again," Hiro vows, his words muffled by both the table and his hair. Tadashi sighs, looking at Dawn.

'I'm glad you did,' he thinks, smiling, 'because if not, I wouldn't have ever gotten here.'

* * *

 **Hiro is secretly happy for his brother.. I think.**

 **Aozora means 'blue sky' in Japanese.**

 **And that's all. This story is el fine!**

 **Be sure to check out my profile for the list of other stories I've written. On there, you'll see more than the summary, but also a little warning for what you may see/experience while reading.**

 **I love feedback! So R &R, please!**

 **~CtW**


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